Mack Vickery
never let adversity stand in the way of his ambition. Left motherless at an
early age, he lived an itinerant life with his father for a decade, from the
early 1940s through the early '50s. He developed a love of country music in the
course of growing up, and while still in his mid-teens started his own honky
tonk band. Successfully deceiving people about his age, Vickery eked out a
living playing music in Michigan and Ohio. His major influence, apart from
Hank Williams, was
Ernest Tubb, whose 1948 hit "Have You Ever
Been Lonely" became part of Vickery's repertory. At age 19, he made it to
Memphis and an audition for Sun Records, on which he tried to straddle the gap
between honky-tonk and rockabilly. He was rejected by Sun, and Vickery later
bounced around different companies, including Gone Records and Jamie, earning
little for his trouble; he never did enjoy success as a recording artist,
despite a decade or more of trying. Vickery did sing and play harmonica backing
Jerry Lee Lewis during the latter's
years on Mercury Records, but much more important were the songs that he wrote,
including "Meat Man," "I Sure Miss Those Good Old Times," "Ivory Tears," "Forever
Forgiving," "That Kind of Fool," and "Rockin' My Life Away." His songs also
became hits for Faron Young,
Tanya Tucker,
Sammi Smith, and
Waylon Jennings, and his
collaborations have included "She Went a Little Bit Farther," written with
Merle Kilgore, which was recorded by
Vickery's one-time idol Ernest Tubb, among
other artists. In the mid-'80s, songs from Vickery's rejected Sun demo tape,
Fool Proof, were released by Charly Records as part of their reissue of the Sun
Records library. After suffering a heart attack Mack Vickery passed away
December 21, 2004 at the age of 66.

MACK VICKERY AT THE ALABAMA WOMEN'S
PRISON - Life Turned Her That Way / A Woman Who Walks On The Wild Side /
Walk A Mile In My Shoes / Down At John Wayne's Ranch-Medley : Cryin' Time -
Still - Life Turned Her That Way - Love Me - Hound Dog / Alabama Women's
Prison Blues / The Purse / Games People Play / As Usual / Jesus, Don't Give
Up On Me / He's Got The Whole World / Ole Time Religion